. >> we're going to hit. . a massive storm assaulting the nation's midsection. below zero temperatures, heavy snow and thick ice are threatening people and power supplies. [ chants ] >> a slowdown at fast food restaurants, workers hitting the p pickett lines demanding higher wages. >> millions of passwords sfln from facebook and google. >> coming out after spending a career in the closet. two years after the repeal of

don't ask, don't tell, gay veterans talk about the challenges faced in the military and out. we begin with breaking news. 20 are dead and doze ens injured after a series of attacks in yemen. the defence ministery in sanaa was targeted. a suicide car bomber ran the gate while gunmen on food opened fire on the other side. the explosion damaged a hospital. there has been no claim of responsibility. a group of militants linked to al-qaeda is based in yemen. the country is under an interim government since the ousting of the president. good to have you with us. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm thomas drayton. closer to home temperatures

are plunging. a blast of arctic air is bringing cold, know and ice tomorrows. the snow is 3 feet deep. in nebraska temperatures are sub zero with wind chills of 20 below. more expected in the rockies. it's a lot different along the east coast where it's warmer than usual. other metrologist nicole mitchell as more. >> the unmistakable sound of wind plunging temperatures by 20-30 degrees in half the country in 24 hours. the cold snap was bringing snow, ice and subzero temperatures, impacting 33 million men's. >> it's terrible. >> watch as the time lapse drops 53 to 10. it's some of the goldest

weather, making an impact with a deep freeze causing snow across the highways. >> from loads littered with spin outs and semi trucks sliding to conditions in reno. it's a brutal storm carining into winter. across the west temperatures could plummet up to 40 degrees below formal. >> two feet of snow left drivers stranded. many shovelled around their tyres to keep moving. the arctic blast is building bringing wind chills to montana. new york is experiencing temperatures topping 60 degrees, about 15 degrees higher normal:

>> in california it is threatening the orange crops. much of the fruit is unplucked as workers are in a race against time. they could use it all in an overnight freeze. >> worst says scenario we'll lose $2 billion of product and have unemployment of 15,000 people. >> a winter blast with far-reaching consequences. >> what is going on this morning. metrologist nicole mitchell is joining us. we have many elements. everything from brutally cold air. we had reports of loss of life when people have been out in the weather. to the snow and freezing precipitation. freezing precipitation will be a big concern as this scoots further south. we were showing you some images,

there's a break in the snow, and more adding to the 2-3 feet around the arrowhead of minnesota. the pinks are what i'm mentioning. even if the snow tapered off, the wind gusts 20, 30, 40 miles per hour, blowing the snow on the ground. so you don't feel like you are out of this. all of this moves southward. we are seeing peaks in missouri. it could be enough of abb indication. you get 0.2 it could snap trees, bring down powerlines and makes the roads slick. you saw a video of a car moving out of control of i've lived in the north. that's a desperate feeling when you can't control who your car is doing. anywhere from the tip of

kentucky to texas. work arkansas. that's where we saw the freezing precipitation on the road. the other side of this is arctic cold air. more on the temperatures in a couple of minutes. >> thank you. president obama says the american dream is threatened by a growing gap between the nations rich and poor. at a speech at the center for american progress, president obama said he'd devote the rest of his term to addressing income and equality he calls it the defining challenge of our time. >> the idea that a child may never escape that poverty because she lacks a dicent education or health care or a community that views her future as their own, that should affect all of us. >> it should compel us to action.

we are a better country. let me repeat. the combined trends of inceffed inequality pose a fundamental effect. >> republicans were quick to cit size of president's remarks. the income gap is caused by policies claiming that the affordable care act and tougher business regulations encourage company depends on the government. the statistics are telling. from 2009 to 2012 the average engine from the top 1% of earners increased 31%. incomes for the rest of the nation's workers rose by one half of one%. >> thousands of fast-food workers scheduled to last their ship are striking. in 100 cities they are striking,

demanding pay. today's strikes are the latest move in a campaign that started last summer. the medium wage is slightly more than $900. >> the workers live in poverty, working in conditions. >> more than two and a quarter americans have non-management jobs with the top 10 fast food chains. anti-government forces, and the post soviet leaders issued solidarity. one is viktor yushenko, coming to power after the orange revolution in 2004. >> the protest scores have persisted for weeks. barnaby phillips reports from kiev.

foreign ministers from across europe have come to kiev. this was a scheduled meeting of the osce. it's not in relation to the political crisis specifically, but you can imagine at that meeting ukraine is bound to feature and there'll be different preaches. for example, the general j the polish and the swedish for instances have been outspoken critic much russia's policy towards ukraine. but sergei lavrov, the russian foreign minister is here, and yesterday he condemned what he called n.a.t.o. inference into the domestic matters of the you grain. meanwhile, as you can see behind me the protest in independent square continues. there's a question, a doubt about momentum. people can carry on turning out in their thousands as they have been doing. ultimately they need a clear idea of their objectives, what they are trying to achieve and

how they can achieve it. i'm not sure that they have that. that's why the ukrainian government policy may be to sit this thing out. >> barnaby phillips reports from kiev. a shift from protests on the streets of thailand. they paused demonstrations out of respect for the kings birthday. >> this was a day to fill the streets and put politics aside. tens of thousands of thais came out to see their beloved king. >> translation: i'm happy to celebrate his birthday. it makes me happy to see him. i wish he would be with us forever. >> as each year passes concern grows about the 8 six-year-old. he made a brief address and spoke of the need to ensure

stability. >> all thais should consider this and focus on doing duties in accordance with responsibilities for the greater interest, which is the security and stability of the country. >> it's said the kink is above politics. in thailand he's never far away. it's a direct reference to the counter dries sis. the scenes of celebration for the king were in contrast to the violence on the streets of bangkok. protesters are calling for the government go. a truce was negotiated as a mark of respect to the king. >> we have to believe in him. we should listen to him about the conflict. >> the protest movement has not given up. at its headquarters people turned their tapes to the birthday. inside protesters took time to rest before they regrouped and

continues in a push. >> the government, think military leaders and others gather before the birthday celebration started, providing an opportunity to discuss of the situation. nothing has changed, neither side is backing down. the king's birthday provided thailand with peace. >> in clashes 5 were killed, 300 injured. >> vice president joe biden has wrapped up a visit to china with no solution to a squabble over air security and spoke with chinese officials. tensions rose when china expanded the air defense zones to include the islands. both powers have a stake in preserving international security. >> china's recent announcement

of the establishment of the air defense zone has caused significant apprehension management region. i was firm in my conversations with the president. >> a pact between the two powers is vital for the asian pacific. he's heading to see yes, the final stop on his far east trip. >> up to 5 billion cell phones are being tracked based on leaks from former n.s.a. contractors, and interviews with u.s. intelligence officials. >> the report said the n.s.a. can pin down the location of a cell phone and map out relationships from them. the spy agency say it does not target the whereabouts of phones in the u.s. the n.s.a. confirmed it gathers information about americans

insidently. >> a scam was discovered by trust wave. militias viruses were sent to thousands of users. it tracked credential. users of facebook, yahoo twitter could be affected. 16,000 accounts were hacked that use 123456. >> anarchy in argentina, why police refuse to put a stop no wild looting in one city. >> american doctors on the front lines of a bird flu scare half a world away. >> they've come a long way since don't ask, don't tell. coming out created new problems. >> you are looking at dallas, were there may be rain together and possibly tonight.

good morning, welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm thomas drayton.

looting in argentina, why the police did not step in to stop it. >> first a look at the weather. we were talking in the break. i'm from minnesota, thomas lived in alaska, we have seen the temperatures. they are not great when you are not used to them. minus 10 in denver. we have wind gusts. this is what we are worrying about. it feels like minus 32. you want to by bundled up. no exposed skin, you can be frost bite and hypothermia. we have the warm corridor ahead of this. that will sink southward with the cold air over the next couple of days and the course of the weekend wind chills below zero. >> we had our fair share of the

coals. venezuela is signing a decree. sellers have been charging a premium for used cars. used cars can't be sold for prices higher than new vehicles, violators can get up to 12 years in gaol. >> when looting broke out police did nothing in argentina's second largest city. crowds attacked shops and supermarkets. at least three people were killed and dozens hurt. al jazeera's monica kiev reports. >> the loot ers and robbers came out in force sacking supermarkets, breaking windows and attacking people in the streets of kordova. they enjoyed a free rein after police refused to leave their barracks. they went out on strike after negotiations over a salary increase broke down. in argentine the government

collects taxes and distributes to the opposition. it is collected by of the opposition, cristina fernandez de kirchner is accused of tolding the funds back. >> the arrival of argentine president cristina fernandez de kirchner had complained that her government denied appeals for reinforcements. and accused cristina fernandez de kirchner of shortchanging provinces. >> translation: there exists autonomy. public security is one of these. the matter has to do with salaries. >> the governor claimed the police walked off the jobs in retaliation for his decision to shut down more than 100 brothels paying off corrupt officers. the police began returning to

work after they were offered salary increases and bonuses making then the best paid in the country. >> i want to tell the people that from this moment the police force returns to the service of the people of kordova. >> the governor vowed to travel to the capital to depend they stop playing politics with his money. >> the provincial grandfather ner blamed the violence. and prime minister sis that they'll face justice. >> apple has reportedly signed a long anticipated deal with china mobile. the deal was reported by "the wall street journal." it would allow apple to distribute iphones. china mobile's subscriber base is seven times large erp than horizon. >> the labour department will issue a weekly report on benefits.

a report showing growth in the private job sector was released wednesday. the housing recovery has been a big driver. >> every construction job leads to three others. we can see a million new jobs coming out, back to norm. that will take us a good way back to where we need to be in terms of our job growth. >> full coverage. jobs report on al jazeera throughout the day and friday morning. >> wall street sticking to the sidelines. stocks futures are pointing to losses at the open. the dow and s and p falling. the dow jones industrial average starts at $15,889. the s&p 500. the nasdaq staying above the key. overseas european markets are fluctuating between games and

losses ahead of monetary decisions with the european central bank and the banks in england. markets in asia fell. the nikkei fell 1.5%. an iconic car brand is reaching a new design. the car goes on sale next fall in north america and rolls out later in europe and asia. ford won't reveal the price tag, but the version starts at 23,000. >> secretary of state john kerry arrives in jerusalem where he met with prime minister benyamin netanyahu. he held a joint news conference. relations and easing of sanctions in iran. >> this is the first time john kerry stepped in since talks started in july. what should we expect? >> good morning, john. yes, i think kerry arrives with

a huge agenda pushing forward tonne middle east peace. while he's doing that the u.s.-israel relationship is strained. it's not clear whether the top allee is nuf to push it forward. the two militaries, greece and italy as well, held an air drill. the two military share vital intelligence. israel achieved more assistance from barack obama than any other president. >> america's support is unprecedented. the reliance between the nations never stronger. >> israel has no better friend than the united states of america. >> that was march. then came last month's nuclear deal with iran. the two allies clashed publicly. >> this agreement made the world a much more dangerous place.

>> >> prime minister benyamin netanyahu seems willing to purpose the white house's patients to the bridges to make a point. why? in israel it's popular. in a recent poll said 80% would not stop iran's nuclear program. many believe it has the same intentions as nazi jeremy. >> the state of how israel was created hangs over our head 60-70 years later. every generation someone is trying to wipe us out. we have to fight bark. >> even if at odds with its best ali. kerry is pushing a preliminary security plan with israel this morning, with his meeting with prime minister benyamin netanyahu. what he hopes to do is convince

israel if its borders are secure other issues of peace can be glossed over or come to a conclusion, but the fact is neither side is giving an indication that the gaps are being bridged. >> we'll follow the talks closely. al jazeera's reporting live in jerusalem. >> bankrupt in detroit. some say the city's art collection should be sold to pay billions in debt. are the paintings and pieces worth that much. retirees that change for a rainy day want their money. rules to be changed. and a safety feature that might have prevent the train wreck. we'll talk about why it didn't do what it was supposed do do. >> jameis winston finds out toot if he will be charged with scpooul assault. details in a bit. you are waking up with a

look at the city this morning. coming right back. pers

person welcome back to al jazeera america. let's get caught up on the top stories that we are following. a suicide bomber attacked the yemen defence ministry in the capital of sanaa. 20 were killed least. the driver drove a car packed with ex-please -- explosives into the gate. >> there's a storm that could bring major outages. [ chants ] . fast food work e are hitting

the picket loip line. in detroit the search is on for assets. christie's auction has was fired by the city to prays the collection at the detroit snoous of arts. -- institute of art. >> $450 mill to $600 million is the estimate of what the arts are worth. kevin orr and creditors have been given a snaphot of what it's worth and if it's worth selling off to pay some of the $18 billion debt. the city is eligible for bankruptcy, and orr hasn't ruled out a fire sale. >> i said when i was in the room

on 25 march that everything was on the table. that is true even now. >> with donated and endowed artwork. off limits. christy's reports reflect the value of 5% of the museum's collection. it amounts to 3,000 pieces of work. among them paintings and sculptures by world renowned artists such as bruegel and van go. >> some are disappointed the amount is lower than what it is. >> university of detroit law prover larry dubin says creditors seeking to claim what they are ode go after the city's art for compensation. >> i think creditors will fight as hard as they can. >> during the bankruptcy elegibility federal judge steven rhodes didn't say whether he'd

allow the sale of prized artwork. he cautioned the city to take care when deciding to sell assets the detroit institute of arts is readying to a fight. they released this statement which reads this part: >> if the collection is jeopardise the dia is committed to taking action to preserve the cultural birth right for future generation generations. some creditors say the cityies collection of classic cards >> chicago is facing a similar crisis, saddled with a $19 billion pension plan.

the city must boost its contribution by $590 million. increasing the money to $1.5 billion. the mayor said the citiy will be forced to double property taxes or eliminate services. >> bureau of stat is it thes said union membership decreased. there's an age disparity. >> the rate is 15.6%. for workers 55 to 64. the numbers drops from young people to 4.2%. to discuss the ruling and how it could affect pensions is the founder and managing attorney of romando law.

>> when the judge handed down the ruling, there was a hush. this is a monumental decision. >> the largest public sector bankruptcy in history. there were 100,000 creditors, 48 unions. the sheer size is more than double the previous record. >> we talk about the unions, nobody is safe, including the unions. >> $3.5 billion to $6 billion in pension obligations. they represent 36% of the operating budget at the time of the bankruptcy. by contrast in the largest 250 cities legacy payments are closer to 10%. >> what is happening here. pensions could be cut. >> that is part of the great unknown. how much will it be cut.

10%, 20. or as high as 50%. >> doesn't michigan law protect the pensioners. >> pensions are referred to as c contractural obligations. >> these pension agreements can be seen as a contract to set a legal precedent across the country. could other municipalities follow suit. >> as one said, this could be the canary in the goldmine. >> could this weaken the power of the union? >> potentially, yes. it's a danger. >> so, you know, asking the question of what will happen next, it will be appealed. could it go to the supreme court. they could argue that the unions or the city didn't negotiate with the unions, there's 48

unions. >> that's an interesting question the the judge noted as a matter of fact that it would have been impractical. given the time line of the bankruptcy, a third of ambulances in detroit are nonfunctional according to reports. only 9% of police cases are solved. there's a problem and immediacy. so the judges as a matter of fact ruled that. it would have been an impracticality. to repeal you need decisions of law. it's questionable whether the supreme court will hear the case. >> who do you think will prevail. >> kevin orr has his work cut out for him. >> we'll see other cities follow suit. if detroit prevails, you look at this as a contract. it's meant to be broken, the union doesn't have the power. >> contracts are meant to be

preserved under extreme circumstances. what we are seeing is hopefully an unusual restricted situation and hopefully chicago can avoid the fate. do you think chicago will bounce back. >> warren buffet called it a city of potential. goldman sacks is in there. a lot of investors are noted. now is the time to invest in detroit. >> remains to be seen. good to have you with us. >> tapes of calls made to 911 during the sandy hook mass anger were released to the media. al jazeera america decided not to air the recordings, but they reveal information you should know. we heard seven recordings made to 911 after the shootings started. at 9.35 a woman who sounded frightened reached a dispatcher saying she was in a school and saw someone running down the

hall with a gun. saying: is it >> connecticut prosecutors argued not to release the tapes, but was overrule. >> according to the "new york times," the derailed train had a system that could warn the engineer, but the system was not in the front cab where wim rockefeller was at the controls, it was in the back. >> highly radioactive waste has been recovered. the gunmen who took the truck probably made a fatal make. the truck was found wednesday that remote area. it was taking cobalt treatments to a dump site. the radioactive container was

open. anyone exposed to it could be in grave danger of dying within days. >> a public health warning in hong kong is at a serious stage. scientists around the globe are trying to find a vaccine to fight the virus. the solution could be found in nashville. >> china has been on high alert. world health organization said there has been 19 deaths. >> close contact with birds results in the influenzaa going from the bird to a person. when the individual is suspected. the infection is serious. >> imports of chickens were suspended on mainland china. >> there is no evidence that the

h 7 and 9 strain spends from human to human. there are fears that the virus could mutate. >> they are taking this very, very serious. and, of course, one of the reasons they are doing it is influenzaa - this strain of flunsa and birds does not make the bird sick. so you can't follow the sick birds. >> here on the campus the frontlines of vaccine research for the strain over in china funded by the national institute of health - there's a tape of a dozen doctors and scientists working to find a vaccine to treat people around the world. three months ago vanderbilt researcher dr katherine edwards joined the search. >> the chinese were good about sharing the virus with the who and with the c d.c. so we could begin of grow the

virus. >> in the test trials it affected 200 people. that led to a development of a successful vaccine. researchers in nashville know while china is more than 8,000 miles away a global apply pandemic could be on the way. >> it used to be if it happened in china, we wouldn't see it, but basically they are a plane ride away. >>. >> they are of no fear. america should know the public health infrastructure is alert to this. we are all tuned in, on top of it and watching it. >> as test trials continued, researchers will be ready to share and release the vaccine. should the h 7 and nine influenza begin to spread.

>> a 36-year-old woman fell ill after coming in contact with poultry during a trip to china. >> dementia cases could triple. they project an increase from 44 million to 135 million. alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia. there are few effective treatments. leaders will meet in london for a summit on dementia. >> an american couple welcomed triplets. conceived without fertility. it's a 1:1 million event. the parents are working on ways how to well which is which. >> it is judgment day for jamesin winston. the florida state quarterback

who led his team to the numberiun ranking and in the running for a heisman trophy will find out if he's going be charged with sexual assault. willie meggs said his investigation is complete. a decision will be made at 2:00 pm eastern time. he was named a.c.c. player of the years. the deadline for voting for the heisman trophy is due monday. today's decision will answer a lot of questions. jameis winston in the meantime has the support of his team-mates. i'm used to maintaining myself and the team - the guys around it, you may think i'm just saying this. when you have good guys around you and people around you, it's easy, you can be yourself. you don't have to worry about he lame, you can be yourself.

these guys don't care. you have the same goal. that's how you be successle. >> in college hoops, north carolina is a dr jekyll and mr hyde team. sometimes they are unstoppable. other times they stake it up to the best of them. last night north carolina mans up against number one michigan stake. bryce thompson jumping out to a 14-point lead. >> adrian pain - he chipped in with 16. tied up at 232. in the second half the tar hills take control. jt off and running, jamming it home. north carolina up by a six back the the tar hills buzzing. they spank the number one team in the country. 79-65 is the final. the best team, san antonio, no.

clippers, no. how about the portland trail blazers. kevin durant and the thunder with an 8-game win streak. throwing a block party. durant on the finish. slamming home 33 points. the traill blazers tom nated download. aldr. >> dge each high. nico la kabam. how about the pouredland trail blazers. they have won 14 of 15 games. they snap oklahoma city eight-game streak. the san antonio spurs and minnesota timberwolvek were supposed to play across the border. a generatedor malfunctions causing smoke. it was postponed to a later

date. the fans were disappointed because the game would have been the first conference in mexico city sips 1997 when the rockets and maverics whoop it up. they'll get a refund. unfortunately they won't see two great games. >> gays in the military. they have come a long way since don't ask, don't tell. coming out of the closet, they say, has created a set of issues. >> an art auction show down over an american original. two bidders drove up the price of a norman rockwall pointing, "saving grace. ". we have had the cold. now we are watching for an ice storm. >> fast food workers are set to strike.

chicago is one of those. and mcdonald's, one of those where they say they are paid a poverty wage.

hello, welcome back to al jazeera america. it was a huge step to get rid of don't ask, don't tell two years ago in the military. we'll look at how far gay veterans have come from then and how far they have to go. first, let's look at where the snow and rain may fall across the county. winter does not start the sol stars until a couple of weeks, meteor logically i'll claim that winter is here with some of this, ice on the way. we are starting to see it develop in missouri, but it's the core from kentucky to northern parts of the texas are i'm particularly concerned about the core that could be centered over arkansas. that's why we have the different ice storm warnings, and then around that where the snowier side will be winter storm warnings, meaning that it's basically impending. an a watch means the conditions

are right. you can start to see the pinks filling in. that's the freezing rain, the stuff coming down as a liquid. it's super cool. mid west it's tapering off. reduced visibility. >> ferries are being used to help residents get on and off north carolina's island before state officials shut the bridge connecting it to the mainland. the trip on the ferry takes two hours. the bona bridge will likely be closed until the end of december. too much sand eroded from the bridge's support structure. >> according to the department of veterans affairs, a million of the military vets are gay. many are facing challenges in the civilian world. as part of our coverage al

jazeera's melissa chan takes a closer look at the programs offered to help them out. >> getting together to discuss a difficult issue - whether to allow military recruiters at the san francisco's pride celebrations. some veterans had to spend their careers in the closest. the overturn of don't ask, don't tell is new. the services are still learning. it's going very well so far, i expect that there are going to be some bumps in the road. >> john serves on the san francisco veteran affairs commission. he kept his sexual orientation

secret. >> i can understand why the don't ask, don't tell - that is how many of us lived our lives, closeted and sheltered. >> the military has come far. veterans' affairs hospitals like this in san francisco launched pilot programs to provide psychologists to handle post traumatic stress caused by antidiscrimination. >> getting the message out that the hospitals welcome lgtb veterans is half the battle. he and his colleagues visit job fairs, community vents. >> veterans have been excited, impressed and surprised that we offered the program and asked for more services. >> the va manages a hot line specifically for gay and lesbian veterans. >> this is the first generation, the first year or two where we

had large numbers of lgte people. they may be responding different to that in the past. >> taylored services will go far. there's a feeling in lgtb circles that counselling program only address heterosexuals. >> there's a lot of flag waving, hypermasculine. not much has changed. the political climate has been haltered. it could be years before cultural attitudes catch up. >> in september, after the supreme court struck down the defensive marriage act. president obama ordered spouses of same-sex spouses to be given the same benefits. >> scientists decoded the oldest

dna sequence. they hope it was related to the neanderthals. instead it's related to a group of ancient humans. the remains could explain how humans evolved and spread. a record prize for an american master piece. this is "saying grace." it's a 1951 oil painting by norman rockwell. two bidders battled during a sotheby's auction. when the hammer came down it sold for 46 million, three times higher than the top price. it's considered a popular of the minipointings that rock well did. the work of cinema clients of charlie chaplin has been lost to decay. more on what is left of the slept era. >> charlie chapli, in a great of cinema.

a pioneering entertainer he rose to fame during the era of the silent films. a director, composer and actor he is seen in his signature role. early motion pictures were called silent because synchronised dialogue was not possible. the sound full musical scores composed and enhancing the emotional swell of the scope was added during editing. that silent film laid the language and ground work for sina madography. talkies soon were born. silent film effectively disregard. the golden age of film lasted from 1912.

during the period 11,000 movies were made. only a quarter have survived in their entirety. a lot in a lower quality. another 5% are in complete. the rest an overwhelming 70% are deemed lost. so few frames exist. one of the most notable is this 1970 version of cleopatra. the minutes of footage preserved are prize the as a cinematic classic. the latest study released by the u.s. library of congress blames decay and neglect for the loss. the first generation of film stock was made of nitrate, which was flammable and decomposes. movie studios played a roll in destroying print and negatives, and along with it a part of

cinematic history. . from black and wight to colour, 45,000 colourful led lights are glowing on the rockefeller christmas tree. the 70 foot-norway spruce was donated by a connecticut family. it is topped with an swarostki star. the tree will shine through january 7th. >> stephanie sy with us to look at the top stories in the next hour. >> fast food workers in more than 100 cities are expected to strike. they want a rise from poverty wages to $15. >> a storm bringing freezing temperatures from the rockies to the plains. >> hackers steal more than 2 million passwords from facebook, yahoo! and twitter. >> stolen information has been

posted. >> high level talks with the president of china. c the two men did not see eye to eye on the air defense zone. >> mexican authorities recover a stolen truck filled with radioactive material. why someone is exposed to the deadly chemical. >> in sport someone has to win. the new york knicks and the nets in their battle. >> a storm gripping the country is causing everything from deadly roads to record snow. i'll tell you who is in the path. >> al jazeera america continues - stephanie sy and i will be back with you in 2.5 minutes.

(vo) al jazeera america we understand that every news story begins and ends with people. >> the efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. (vo) we pursue that story beyond the headline, past the spokesperson, to the streets. >> thousands of riot police deployed across the capitol. (vo) we put all of our global resources behind every story. >> it is a scene of utter devastation. (vo) and follow it no matter where it leads, all the way to you. al jazeera america. take a new look at news. determining using some sort of subjective interpretation of their policy as to whether or not your particular report was actually abusive, because if it doesn't contain language that specifically threatens you directly or is targeted towards you specifically, they may not consider it abuse. they may consider it offensive. and in that case they just recommend that you block that person. >> i don't want to minimise this, because i mean, there's

some really horrible things that are on line, and it's not - it's not just twitter, what has happened through social media and the anonymity of the net is that you see websites, hate-filled websites targetting all sorts of groups, popping up. there has been a huge number of those that exist as well.

>> living wage, fast food workers prepare to strike in more than 100 cities to demand a livable wage, as president obama renewed his call for a minimum wage hike. >> temperatures plunging in much of the u.s., bringing freezing rain, sleet and snow. >> chaos in yemen, a car bomb explodes. shots ring out. the government battles al-qaeda and rebels. >> how many more children do you have to disserve before you say let's try something different. >> something different and controversial. the proposal for a better educational system in louisiana as residents get a lesson on race and class.

>> fast food might not be as fast today, as workers in 100 cities say they will walk off the job. good morning and welcome to aljazeera. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm thomas drayton, good to have you with us. thousands of workers will picket. strikes are planned for the first time in charleston, south carolina, providence, riled and pittsburgh. it's an on going push to raise ourly wages in the industry to $15. fast food workers are among the lowest paid workers in the country. >> low wages are being addressed by president obama. in a speech wednesday, the president said he will dough vote the rest of his term to addressing income inequality.

>> the idea that a child may never be able to climb out of positivity, that should offend all of us and compel to us action. we are a better country than this. let me repeat. the combined trends of increase in equality and decreasing equality pose a threat to the american dream and what we stand for around the world. >> wal-mart workers walked off the job on black friday demanding equality. >> hotel workers in seattle tack coma airport got their wages bumped up to $15 an hour from the current $7.25.

last year, 200 fast food workers held a one day strike at more than 20 restaurants in new york. what are we expecting today. >> well, stephanie, it certainly remains to be seen, but this movement has picked up steam. this started about a year ago, small in new york with just a few workers walking out, but back here in august this summer, this particular mcdonald's, 500 people staged a protest, disrupting service. not all of those workers were fast food workers. many were with different unions, different community members, who she passionate about this cause. it remains to be seen. and you say mentioned last time, about 60 cities are hoping for 100 cities to participate. this started yesterday, this wave of protests with a number of people, including one particular group, moveon.org delivered petitions to fast foot restaurants in several cities.

>> you could work full time here and still not be able to support yourself, much less a family. here we are with we won't say who, the people who shut down the government talking about people being lays and they cut food stamps and here are people working full time, working overtime, not being given wage that is they can live on. when everybody has decent wages, i think the whole economy goes better. i think the economy has just gone down the tubes because of the 1% who want to make the most out of the misery of others. >> the sticking point here is that these workers and folks behind them are asking for a $15 an hour federal minimum wage. that's not the only point here. they really also want to be able to unionize without any fear of retaliation. >> we'll continue to check back in with you throughout the day. thanks. >> stephanie, this latest strike

is similar to once we've seen across the country, focusing on income and equality. much of that money is going to wealthier americans. the income of the top 1% grew by 31.4% since 2009, but for everyone else barely moved, growing less than has half a%. much of this battle has been over the minimum wage of $7.25. president obama suggested that rates should be hiked to $10.10 an hour. if it were tied to productively ty, one study said that figure really should be $21.72. >> temperatures are plunging right now across much of the country. a blast of arctic air is bringing bone-chilling cold along with snow and ice storms. it's a different situation along the east coast where temperatures have been a lot warmer than usual. nicole mitchell has more.

>> a bone chilling wind has already plunged temperatures by 20-30 degrees in half the country by 24 hours. the cold snap is bringing a brutal mix of snow, ice and sub zero temperatures, impacting 33 million americans. >> it's terrible. it's terrible. watch this time laps as it drops from 54 to 10. it's making an impact with a deep freeze, causing slick roads across america's highways. >> we're going to hit! oh! >> semi trucks sliding in iowa, across the west, some temperatures could plummet 40 degrees. it's not just the biting record cold.

around duluth, many shoveling around their tires just to keep moving. >> i've never seen it like this before. >> wind chills in montana are 30 below zero. new york, temperatures could top 60 degrees today, about 15 degrees higher than normal. back in california, the deep freeze is threatening its citrus crop. >> they'll go bitter on you fairly fast if they're frozen hard. >> 85% of the fruit in this multi-billion dollars industry still unplucked as workers race time. they could lose it all in an overnight freeze. >> worst case scenario, we'll lose about $2 billion in product, have unemployment of 15,000 people. >> a winter blast with far-reaching consequences. >> we're kind of all over the place, aren't we?

>> it's so many elements of this storm, from the brutal cold that is really deadly to where the snow is tapering off, the high winds are still blowing that. on the southern end is where we'll see the potential for freezing rain and then an ice storm all with the same system. even with this snow starting to taper off, the wind is what keeps some of those winter storm advisories and warnings up in portions of the midwest, plus the brutal wind chill we're dealing with. on the southern end is where we're watching for ice. i am so concerned with that. parts of arkansas, a half to three quarters of an inch, that's the type which ice that brings down trees, it causes severe problems on the roads. if you've ever lived in areas where you can't the control where your car is going, it's that type of ice. >> we're going to watch for

this, the corridor, texas dealing with that. we're not used to driving in that court of weather. as it coats the frees, that causes the power outages. also the arctic air. we were talking about denver and how those temperatures dropped. they continue to drop to below zero. that some of these wind chills are 30 blow and 40 blow. i'll have more on the temperature side of that coming up in just a few minutes. >> a developing story we're following now, at least 20 people are dead and dozens more injured after a series of attacks in yemen. the heavily guarded defense ministry in the capitol was targeted. a suicide car bomber rammed the gate on one side of the building while gunman on foot opened fire on the other side. the explosion damaged a hospital inside the complex. there has been no claim of responsibility, but a group of militants linked to al-qaeda is based in yemen. the country is under an interim government since the ouster of

the president two years ago. >> vice president joe biden has wrapped up his visit to china after spending several hours with chinese leaders discussing the new air defense zone that is raising tensions in the region. china is not backing down from its claims to the zone, covering disputed island also claimed by japan. the u.s. has flown military aircraft into the zone without notifying china. biden stressed that the two powers have a stake in preserving international security. >> we're trying to build a new kind of relationship between major powers, one that's different, one that is defined by constructive cooperation, healthy competition and a shared respect for an agreed upon new set of rules of the road and international norms. >> biden stressed that a pact between the two powers is vial for the entire asian practicing civic. he is now heading to south

korea. >> mexican police have recovered a stolen van carrying highly radioactive waste. they say someone opened the container containing the cobalt 60. the community has worries about the radioactive exposure. >> soldiers and police cordoned off the area where the stolen material was found. 150 families from this town north of mexico city have been evacuated. the nuclear safety commission said there is no risk as long as people stay clear of the material. some residents aren't convinced. >> this danger of radioactive exposure, we don't know however this could go. it could kill you. >> the cobalt was encased, but someone opened the container. whoever it was was exposed to a lethal dose of radiation, according to mexico's nuclear safety director. officials say it was the thieves, but one emergency worker said other people might have been exposed.

>> people say they found it and they decided to bring it home so they could open it. they were thinking of selling it as scrap metal. >> this is the gas station where gunman stole the truck. it had no security escort. the driver was sleeping when two men pulled him out of the truck and left him in a nearby lot. officials don't think thieves knew what they were stealing. this is the largest amount of radioactive material ever stolen in mexico. >> in mexico, we have something like 3500 or something provisional soldiers and when we experience loss or theft of about future to suction units a year and most has been recovered. >> this was only recovered once it was out in the open. police and soldiers have been searching for the stolen vehicle

using radioactive detectors. the head of mexico's nuclear safety commission tells us that now authorities are considering providing security to escort such transport vehicles in the future. aljazeera, mexico city. >> officials say it could take at least two days to safely clean up the material and transport it to a waste site. >> cell phones are being tracked by the n.s.a. according to a washington post report based on leaks from edward snowden. the report says the u.s. can pin down the location of a cell phone anywhere in the world and map out relationships from them. the spy agency said it does not target the whereabouts of phones in the u.s. but confirms that it collects a great deal of data about americans incidentally. >> hackers have stolen more than 2 million user names and pass words on some of the world's most popular sites. the scam was discovered by trust

wave, a cyber security firm. they say malicious viruses were sent to countless computers capturing credentials. users of facebook, yahoo and g mail could be affected. 16,000 accounts were hacked that use the password 123456. >> the engineer of the commuter train that crashed in new york has been suspended without pay. a spokesman said that with my rockefeller is out of service and not being paid. "the new york times" says the train featured a system that can warn the engineer of a potential accident and even apply the brakes, but the system was not in the front cab, where rockefeller was at the controls. it was installed in the locomotive, which was pushing the train from the back. trains are running on the normal schedule today, including the bronx near the scene of sunday's

derailment. >> thigh land has negotiated a troupe truce with protestors. protest leaders say they will be on the streets afterwards. police allowed demonstrators to enter government compounds. the brief lull is to honor the thai king on his birthday. he urged people to support each other for the sake of the country. protests turned violent last weekend. four people died. >> foamer presidents joined together giving a nod to the thousands of ukrainians taking to the streets and condemned the excessive use of force being used against them. meanwhile, some ukrainian officials are calling for negotiations to end the standoff. with he report from the heart of the pro evident the in key every. >> foreign ministers from across

europe have come to key every today. this was a scheduled meeting of the o.s.c.e. it's not in relation to the political crisis here specifically, but you can imagine that at that meeting, ukraine is bound to feature and there will be some very different professionals. the german, the polish and swede issue fortune ministers have been outstone critics of russia's poles against ukraine. as you can see behind me, the protests in independence square continue. there is a doubt about momentum. people can carry on turning out in the thousands as they have been doing, but ultimately need a clear idea of their objectives of what they're trying to a ooh

chief and how they can achieve it. i'm not sure necessarily they have that and that's why the ukrainian government's policy maybe to sit this out. >> there are new fears about meningitis. >> another college campus is facing students sickened with the disease. >> the steps officials are taking to contain the outbreak. >> president obama's health care allow could force doctors to take on more patients. that how that could affect your medical care. >> $60 billion, it is our big number of the day, and it's how much one tech giant could be giving back. where that money will be going.

>> todd, big number, $60 billion, that's the number brooklyn hour carl eye cob wants apple to give back to investors in a share buy o. back. it's a dispute between the two sides and the center of time's cover story. he wants them to spend more of its massive stockpile.

his initial request was $100 billion. he believes the giant should share more wealth with stock hold jeers a lot of money to give back. welcome back. >> a new meningitis scare erupted at another university, sickening four people so far. this particular strain has no treatment. we'll find out what steps are being taken to battle the disease. >> we've got a lot to talk about, meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> there are decent ones out there. where it's most critical is northern plains, northern midwest. we had sub zero temperatures, denver now at minus 12. the winds gusting easily in the 30-40-mile per hour range means it feels like in fargo minus

20's. the next couple mornings, those wind chills could be 30 below zero and 40 below zero. that is very easy to get frostbite and hope poe therm i can't very quickly. ahead of that, we've got 50's and 60's before the front pulls through. negative overnight as we get to the northern plains, so it is going to stay dangerously cold. a lot of wet weather causing problems, i'll have more on that coming up. >> students at the university of california santa barbara are urged to avoid social he gent after a fourth case of meningitis is on campus. the school is working to provide hand sanitizers as students prepare for final exams next week. health officials are trying to determine the source of the outbreak. there is no certainty they will find the cause. we have more. >> four students at this sprawling campus developed this rare formal of meningitis in

four weeks. one in four who catch it die. >> when this outbreak started, when we had three cases two weeks ago, we recognize that had three cases within two weeks was a dangerous situation. >> one student, a freshman lacrosse player had such a serious case that both his feet had to be computated. >> the sepsis can be overwhelming and the body becomes toxic and hands and feet are overwhelmed with infection and end up being amputated. >> students are avoided about being too class, sharing drinks and kissing. the huge frat house party scene has been shut down. what the four cases have in common is that the students went the to parties or had roommates who did. >> my friends here are pretty

bummed out right now. >> the u.s. has no treatment for the strain that hit this campus. princeton university had eight cases in nine months caused by a similar strain and was recently given federal permission to import a european vaccine not approved in the u.s. santa barbara might need to do the same. for now, u.c. santa barbara is handing out antibiotics in an effort to stop the spread of the disease. >> more cases might be identified. some students have been tested who have flu like symptoms similar to what they'd have with minute in. >> it's. the results aren't in yet. >> a university spokesman said two of the sickened students have recovered and are back in classes. >> turning to business now, we'll learn about the health of the u.s. economy. the government will update the third quarter gross domestic product at 8:00 eastern.

economists expect the g.d.p. to be revised upward to 3%. >> the labor department will release its weekly report on new unemployment benefits. a report showing strong growth in private sector jobs was released wednesday. tomorrow morning, we'll have full coverage of the much anticipated reports right here on aljazeera america. >> wall street is still not in a buying mode, pointing to losses at the open, do you futures down. the dow and s&p down yesterday, the longest losing streak in more than two months. the dow starts a 15,000, 889, the s&p add 17,092. the nasdaq above the key 4,000 level. european markets are lower, the bank of england announced it won't change its benchmark interest rates. markets in asia fell across the

board with japan's nikkei falling 1.5% joanne iconic car brand is getting a new scene as it reaches its 50th birthday. the fort mustang is being launched. the car goals on sale next fall in north america and will roll out later in europe and asia. the current version starts at $23,000. >> under the affordable care act, doctors may end up with more patients and could be getting paid less for them. what does that mean for you? it could mean fewer doctors to choose from if you're self insured. we found out why. >> if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor, so long as your doctor keeps you. the new health law has many physicians wondering if they'll be able to afford to keep their self insured patients or accept new ones that get covered on the exchanges or through medicaid expansion. >> the first thing the physicians can expect is to see a lot more patients coming into

their offices with health insurance and a lot more are going to be covered through medicaid, because the expansion is one of the biggest parts of the expansion in the affordable care act. >> millions get covered under the health law, and many doctors restrict medicaid patients because of low reimbursement rates. >> it comes down to how much am i going to be paid and am i going to have be able to practice the way i want to practice. >> medicaid rates vary from state to state but are belong medicare and private insurance. >> a brooklyn based ophthalmologist says that private insurance for a full eye exam reimbursement rates are $100. >> primary care rates and medicaid are going to have to go up by 73% nationally, but in new

york, have to triple. >> private insurance companies are selling plans on the exchanges, doctors are ambivalent about whether they'll take that insurance. many plan to sit out the first year. 33% are not sure if they'll participate and nationwide, four in 10 physicians say they are still weighing options. lower payments to physicians experts say is one way of making the new plans more affordable. even for patients who have insurance that pay doctors higher rates, many new plans carry higher out of pocket costs, creating extra hurdles for doctors trying to collect, leaving physicians on the hook for those costs. >> many insurance companies are telling us they are not going to be advicing us of the actual duckable ahead of time, so the doctor cannot collect it in advance. that means that the doctor has to wait for the insurance company determination, has to

bill the patient and then hope that the patient can pay it. >> that hope may not make financial sense for doctors when the drive to lower health care costs is already pressuring their bottom line. >> doctors say this could hinder their ability to pay their support staff. >> vice president joe biden wrapping up his trip to china. >> he was working to ease tensions between china and japan over a land dispute. >> we'll tell you whether he was able to accomplish that goal. >> secretary of state john kerry is working to strike peace between the israelis and palestinians. >> a deadly trip made by thousands looking to have a better life. why officials in one country are looking to crack down on refugees making their way in. >> florida state quarterback will find out today fell be charged with sexual assault.

we'll have the details.

>> you're waking up with a live look at kansas city, missouri. it's going to abbright day, but the temperature right now, 20 degrees with a wind chill of eight degrees. it is down right cold. good morning, welcome back to aljazeera. i'm thomas drayton. >> i'm stephanie sy. vice president biden has wrapped up his trip to china. they are considering vice president bides request to maintain peace in the region. we'll talk about how this is going to affect the china-u.s. relations. >> secretary of state john kerry

is in the middle east dealing with his own set of tensions, taking part in another round of peace talks between israeli and palestinian officials, facing% six from the start about hopes for a breakthrough. in just a few minutes, we'll have more. >> in another international story, thousands of refugees travel from africa to europe. officials in spain are taking action amid a rise of people using one specific city as a stepping stone into europe. >> first, thousands of offensive food workers who are scheduled to start the their shifts this morning say they will picket instead. strikes are planned at fast food shops in 100 cities. the demands, higher pay. today's strikes are the latest move in a campaign that started last summer. the medium wage for u.s. fast

food workers in more than $9 an hour. they want $15 and the right to unionize. >> vice president joe biden is in south korea. he spoke with chinese officials about their dispute over islands in the south china sea. china expanded its air defense zone to include those items. biden stressed that both have a stake in security. >> china's recent and sudden announcement on a new air defense identification zone has caused significant apprehension in the region. i was very direct about our official position and our expectations in my conversations with president chi. >> he stressed that a pact is vital for the asian pacific. >> joining us to discuss it is

an expert at the and corporation, joining us from washington this morning. thanks for being with us. was biden able to diffuse any of the attention on this newly declared air defense zone? >> i think the answer was yes. this trip was planned well before the recent tensions, but the tensions not unexpectedly consumed a lot of time during his visit to china, talks in china, and in japan, and i'm sure will also consume a lot of time when he visits korea shortly. it did, he was able, i think, to emphasize to the chinese the level of concern that the united states has, and the ripple effects of this declaration throughout the region, so i

think the message was received. >> what are the ripple effects? >> increase intentions, especially between china and japan. this is a volatile relationship to begin with, so this unilateral action on the part of the chinese sort of guaranteed to cause great concern in japan. >> is this really only about u.s. and japan and this tiny group of islands in the east china sea or is there a broader question about china's general rise in influence and in military power in that region? >> good question. i think these small, uninhabited islands to the casual observer don't seem that important, but for china, they are loomed very large and for three reasons. one is it's about japan, it involves japan.

this is a very sensitive relationship in china. second, it involves a territorial dispute, and this is seen as a core chinese national interest, so it's very important. thirdly, these islands involve china's geo strategic ambitions. china wants to, has stated that it wants to expand its military influence out to the so-called second island chain, which includes this, so it's the east china sea is a region, maritime region that china wishes to project its military power on. >> the fact that china hasn't backed down makes me ask how much leverage does the u.s.

really have with china in that region? are they the 800-pound gorilla? they are the largest foreign holders of our debt. >> i think you that's perhaps over -- perhaps not the best way to couch it. u.s. and china releases are property to both countries, and neither country, including china has anything to be gained from making this relationship go south or increasing tensions, so it's about managing differences and working together to resolve challenges. the chinese don't want to see this relationship go south, and the united states similarly wants to be able to work with china. when you think about what this chinese declaration means in the greater scheme of things, it's

an inflammatory development and inflammatory act. in the greater scheme of things, it's a relatively moderate action. >> as long is a supposed there are no miscalculations when a u.s. fighter pilot collided with a chinese plane. >> that's why the united states has adopted the appropriate response, firm and the emphasis has been on trying to avoid these escalation and tragedies such as the one you mentioned. i think vice president biden has struck the right tone both with our allies and with china. >> all right, a delicate dance as they say. thank you, sir. >> you're welcome. >> secretary of state john kerry arrived in jerusalem this morning where he met with prime

minister benjamin netanyahu. on the table, mideast relations and the easing sanctions on iran. what do we hear about today's talks between kerry and naten netanyahu? >> israeli wants to talk about iran, and what it wants to talk about is its continuing concerns about the initial deal that the u.s. and world powers pushed through about iran's nuclear program. israel feels that that deal doesn't actually stop iran's capacity to make a nuclear weapon. u.s. officials agree. we're not taking away iran's capacity to make a nuclear weapon. all we're doing is trying to freeze the program so the plutonium capacity doesn't increase so in six months, we can make a final deal. he was here to reassure the

israelis that the u.s. is here listening to them. he knows that the iran deal is to be talked about. >> the bond between the united states and israel is unbreakable. while occasionally, we might have a difference of a tactical measure, we do not have a difference about the fundamental strategy we both seek be with the security of israel and the long term peace of this region. >> that is kerry's evident to reassure israel despite very public agreement between president obama and prime minister netanyahu. kerry hopes by reassuring israel, we can move to the next conversation about mideast peace. >> do we expect kerry's statements on iran that have any i will pact on peace talks with palestine? >> i think what we're already

seeing is that the iran deal is limiting the u.s. capacity to negotiate, to have leverage over the israels. every analyst here, every official who knows prime minister netanyahu says the u.s. didn't listen over iran, therefore he won't listen to the u.s. john kerry and his advisors are pushing forward with a peace process plan emphasizing security. kerry will talk about the security of israeli. >> we'll see where these talks will lead, reporting live in jerusalem, thank you. >> the 14-year-old massachusetts boy accused of slitting the throat of his math teacher in a school bathroom is pleading not guilty. phillip chisholm appeared in court to enter his plea, charged with killing 24-year-old teacher

and dumping her body near the school. he is held without bail. >> the arizona division of forestry has received the largest fine ever given to a fire division. the division of occupational safety and health fined the division in connection with the yarn necessarily fire. it's accused of not having proper plans in place and failing to provide key personnel. the fine includes a penalty of $25,000 for each firefighter killed. >> the death of a man at a kansas city chiefed football game is ruled a homicide. police say it could take weeks before they know exactly how he died. he was found unconscious outside arrowhead stadium sunday and died inside a hospital. witnesses report seeing a scuffle between him and another man. >> a lot of questions will be answered at sports today. >> we are playing the waiting

game, but the florida state quarterback who has led his team to the number one ranking will find out today fell be charged with sexual assault. the state attorney said that his investigation is complete and that a decision on whether or not to charge winston for sexual assault, which occurred last december, will be made at 2:00 p.m. today, eastern standard time. winston was just named the player of the year and his team will be playing the conference championship team saturday. the deadline in voting for the heisman trophy is due monday. today's decision will answer a lot of questions moving forward. >> in the nba, talk about a drought. the last time the indiana pacers won in utah, "million dollar baby" won for best picture and brad pitt broke up with jennifer aniston and started dating angelina jolie. >> coast-to-coast against the jazz, oh, baby.

pacers up by three. down the stretch, the pacers would continue to feed their money man at george cashes in the there'll. raise your hands if you're sure. the pacers would go on to win in utah for the first time since woman five. 95-86 is your final. >> everybody was yakking about how agree the knicks and nets are supposed to be. now both are a hot mess. both teams have yet to pay dividends. the nets have just five wins, the nicks three. somebody has got to win tonight. we break it down. >> it's just a continued soap opera mess out there. starting with the nets, i knew something was wrong when the season began and jason kidd had to sit two games out because of a d.u.i. the former head coach didn't get the chance to do it, they picked the assistant coach instead.

that was kind of confusing. i just kept hearing things that got worse from there, the relationship was bad. you know, probably in lawrence frank's head, he's probably like i can coach these guys better than jason. he was just hanging out with players a couple of months ago. it ended up being a bad mix. you had soda gate, now this. i don't know what's going on with the nets. it might get to the point where he walks away and says it's not worth it. i think he's in over his head and you have to lean on your assistants. i'd keep an eye on him, but certainly there's a lot of pressure on him. >> we haven't given enough to talk about chandler being out. he's certainly a big part of this team, but they shouldn't be this bad, they shouldn't be losing to everybody. they shouldn't be getting drilled. mellow called them a laughing stuck. the nets and nicks, nobody's

buying tickets for it. it was supposed to be a grand game on the nba scale, but dolan, the owner of the knicks hates the owner of the nets and if the knicks lose, i wouldn't be surprised if mike woodson couldn't be losing his job soon. >> bragging rights will be between the knicks and nets. >> a number of people trying to reach spain from north africa is forcing authorities to take action. we have the story. >> as soon as the gates open, a rush of people flood back and forth. this tiny spanish city has been

important. many will do whatever they can to get here. not long ago, a man who dried to climb the fence died. the spanish authorities decided to reinforce part of the fence with razor wire. those that do get through often find themselves living in limbo in the city's detention center facing deportation. one family traveled from the syrian city of holmes. abraham from guinea scaled the fence hoping to find a better life. >> here we have the hope of getting through. we know that everybody couple of weeks there are people that get

in. that if we arrive, we can work a little bit, even if we don't earn much, we earn enough to support ourselves. >> the move to fortify the area has been criticized some rights groups. >> we don't agree with the razor fences. we don't they it's an adequate solution. it's going to make summer situation more desperate. it's not going to stop people coming in, because they're looking for a more dill any offed life. >> the geographic location means it has always been a gateway, but it's simply unable to cope with the surge of illegal migrants. >> the european union has got to get more involved. i think they should do more. >> for many here, the long

journey will only end in disappointment, with the gulf between here and mainland spain never feeling wider. >> dozens have died in recent months trying to make the crossing from north africa to the northern island. >> looking to get through airport security at a quicker pace. >> a new plan for travelers is in place to do just that. >> making flier just a bit easier. >> a community divided, a controversial new plan could shift the racial makeup of one city.

>> and now, a techknow minute..ñ

>> good morning, welcome back to aljazeera america. >> coming up in just a moment, one u.s. community could be divided into two if a plan that would create a new city gets the green light from voters. the plan is bringing up issues of race and class. >> first, let's get a look at the precipitation across the u.s. today. nicole mitchell is back. nicole.

>> we've had stuff in the northern plains, but with the snow we already have and winds whipping around, still very treacherous on the roads. i want to focus on the pink colors at the bottom of your screen, tulsa and around the region starting to see precipitation. we have an ice storm warning tennessee into north texas. a warning means things are pretty much imminent. through the rest of the day into friday, very slick roads, possible power outages. >> security lines at the nation's airports may get a little easier for some. starting today, you'll be able to apply for the t.s.a.'s precheck program. you can register for the program on line or at major airports. if you qualify, you'll get to keep your shoes on and your bets. when you go through security, you'll no longer need to pull out your laptop. the program requires a background check and $30 fee.

>> >> a plan to create a new city in louisiana brings up questions and class. residents would be mostly white and affluent. voters will decide if they can go forward you with the plan. what the proposal could mean to the people who live there. >> jeffery lee doesn't miss a moment with his grandchildren on the north end of baton rouge. >> i try to enjoy them while i can. >> although they're not in school yet, he knows education will be the key to a better life. >> i want them to go to school and learn as much as they can. >> that's a challenge in a city where 60% of the public school children around learning at agreed level. >> this is one of the worst school systems in the state. how many more children do you have to disserve before you say

let's try something different. >> a group is pushing for a different plan for better schools by breaking away from east baton rouge and starting a new city. the city would claim a quarter of the parrish residents, making it the fifth largest in the state. it would control and run its own schools with its own tax revenue. >> this is just about education. >> it's 100% totally about education. we didn't come in saying we want to create the fifth largest city in the state of louisiana. we want to take accountabilities for the schools. >> critics say st. george would take more than accountability. a report warps that the break up could cost the city at large $53 million, 20% of its budget and further segregate the city. baton rouge is a majority black, st. george would be major city white at a 3-1 ratio.

>> now we would have white kids going to school over here on this end of the parrish, white kids going to school on the other end of the parrish and in the middle, you would just have the black kids going to school. >> there's a major income disparity. residents make an average of $58,000 a year. residents in the much more off a fluent st. george area make 90,000. >> we have to look at does that take us backwards where we're segregating ourselves again. i don't see it as a win. >> it's not a new trend. both the white and black middle class have been fleeing for decades. those looking to break away say it's not about race, it's education. >> this has nothing to do with skin color. it's a middle class flight. if you've got the means to leave this school system, you've left. >> for those who may not be able to leave, like jeffery lee, it means more division. >> i guess eventually, it's all going to change.

you're going to have one side better than the other side. what's going to happen, i guess the lower class, i guess you would say, if everybody is going to move up to a different city, it makes better classes. >> >> baton rouge is not the only city you seeing the moves at secession. it's been tried in several other cities. >> >> identical. i lets were born on november 22. doctors say it's at least a one in a million event. the parents say they are working on ways to tell which child is which. they've got their hands full. >> at the end of our second hour, we have a look at what

we're following this morning. >> fast food workers in 100 cities are expected to strike today. they want a raise from what they call their poverty level wage to say $15 an hour. >> a major storm system is bringing freezing temperatures from the rackies to the plains. >> stolen information has been posted on line, including confidential information from several websites. >> stay with us.

>> from our headquarters in new york, here are the headlines this hour. >> al jazeera america is the only news channel that brings you live news at the top of every hour. >> a deal in the senate may be at hand and just in the nick of time. >> thousands of new yorkers are marching in solidarity. >> we're following multiple developments on syria at this hour. >> every hour from reporters stationed around the world and across the country. >> only on al jazeera america. determining using some sort of subjective interpretation of their policy as to whether or not your particular report was actually abusive, because if it doesn't contain language that specifically threatens you directly or is targeted towards you specifically, they may not consider it abuse. they may consider it offensive. and in that case they just recommend that you block that person. >> i don't want to minimise this, because i mean, there's

some really horrible things that are on line, and it's not - it's not just twitter, what has happened through social media and the anonymity of the net is that you see websites, hate-filled websites targetting all sorts of groups, popping up. there has been a huge number of those that exist as well. >> fault lines investigates... fracking >> shale gas development could actually double the economic growth rates in the province. >> this is our land for thousands of years... >> do you drink money? you must have a lot of money to drink... >> as tensions rise, and protests turn violent, where will the debate lead? >> the situation was no longer peaceful or safe... >> they were bashing my head with their boots... they had their guns on me and everything.... >> how much more real can this get? >> fault lines only on al jazeera america

>> a major slowdown at fast food restaurants. workers are hitting the picket lines demanding higher wages. >> we're going to hit! we're going to hit! oh! >> a massive storm is assaulting the nation's midsection. below zero temperatures, heavy snow and thick ice are threatening people and power supplies. >> republicans and democrats in congress are hammering out a new budget deal. will it happen quickly enough to head off yet another government shutdown? it's being called the forgotten crisis. the u.s. is taking a stand in the violence against the central

african republic. >> good morning. welcome to aljazeera america. i've stephanie sy. minimum wage workers across the country are taking tole streets today calling for higher wages. one day after the president spoke out about the problem of income inequality, president obama calls the growing gap between the nation's rich and poor a threat to the american dream and the defining challenge of our time. >> the combined tremendous of increased jump equality and decreasing mobility pose a fundamental threat to the american dream, our way of life and what we stand for around the globe. >> thousands of fast food workers are expected to hit the picket lines today, demandinging an increase from poverty level wages to $15 an hour. >> these workers live in

complete poverty, working for the richest corporations independent country. >> a wage increase to $15 an hour for workers is a subject that hit home wednesday. we have the story. >> here, it is the season to shop, the mad dash for bar against that gun. with this backdrop, president obama is trying to show what people got paid. usually the federal minimum wage, $7.25 an hour. >> there are airport workers and fast food workers and nurse assistants and retail sales people who work their tails off, and are still living at or barely above poverty. >> many of the three and a half million americans who make that or less have started taking to the streets, sales clerks, restaurant workers, protesting

in growing numbers for what they say is a living wage. working full time at minimum wage means they make just over $15,000 a year. that is below the federal poverty level for a single parent with one child, which means they usually can't afford the basics, like enough food. the president's argument, that's unamerican. >> statistics show we rate near jamaica and argentina, it is harder today for a a child born here in america to improve her station in life than it is for children in most of our wealthy allies, canada, germany or france. they have greater mobility than we do, not less. >> one way out of that, he says, raise the minimum wage, an idea he floated in a speech last february, but has talked little about since, leaving some

economists to question his sincerity. >> he makes these sorts of statements about his commitments, beliefs and hopes but when it comes to the actual governing, we are at the same minimum wage we have been at for years. >> these workers haven't seen an increase since 2009. getting that to change may depend on how many of them raise their voices now, not on how many times the president does. let's go to jonathan martin, covering today's protest in new york. last year, 200 fast food workers held a one day strike at more than 20 restaurants here. are we expecting something like that today. >> it really remains to be seen just how significant, how large this protest will be. this all started and it has grown from a year ago with just a few fast food workers walking out in new york.

this restaurant is open for business, people going in and out. a year ago in august, there were 500 people who protested outside of this mcdonald's. not all of them were fast food workers. we could see that today. organizers say it has grown bigger, expanding to 100 cities, smaller cities, so they feel like their movement has certainly grown. this latest wave of protests or planned protests started yesterday here in new york and about five other cities with one particular group, moveon.org delivering petitions in some five cities. >> you can work full time here and not support yourself, much less a family. here we are with the people who shut down the government talking about people being lays and they cut food stamps, and here are people working full time, working overtime, not being given wages that they can live

on. when everybody has decent wages, i think the whole economy goes better. i think it has just gone down the tubes, because of the 1% who want to make the most out of the misery of others. >> again at this point, no one really showing up at this point. we're here outside the wendys and mcdonald's here. we could see change later. there are some critics so these planned protests, including the national restaurant association pointing out that most of the participating people are not actual fast food workers, they are p.r. groups and unions who are a part of this cause. >> we'll continue to check back in with you. jonathan martin in new york, thank you. >> three of ukraine's former presidents express solidarity with anti-government protestors. among those leaderrers, the president who came to power after the orange revolution in

2004, the statement gave a nod to thousands of protesting citizens. they also condemn the force against the demonstrators. demonstrators are still occupying a centrally square in key every and blocking entrance to several government buildings. it happens as diplomats arrive. >> in thigh land, protestors who want the i'm minister to resign stopped the demonstration out of respect for the king's birthday. the movement leaders say they will be back on the streets afterwards. the king urged people to support each other for the sake of the country. protests turned violent last weekend. at least four people died. >> temperatures are plunging across the country and the blast of arctic air is bringing snow and causing ice storms. the snow is three feet deep in

minnesota. in rask, wind chills are 20 below. it's a lot different on the east coast, where it's warmer than usual. nicole mitchell is tracking the winter storm right now. what's the latest? >> there is so much going on with this system that we've been dealing with, all the different elements. it's really something that has been impacting us from coast-to-coast, places like the midwest. this is a brutal multi-facetted storm system with impacts that have reached across the country. >> that unmistakable sound, a bone chilling wind that has plunged temperatures by 20 the degrees to oh 30 degrees in half the country in just 24 hours, bringing snow, ice and sub zero temperatures, impacting 33 million americans. >> it's terrible. it's terrible. >> watch this time laps as the

thermometer in denver drops from 54 to 10 in just 14 hours. it's some of the oldest weather parts of the united states have seen in decades, making an impact with the deep freeze, causing slick roads across america's highways. from roads littered with spin outs to salt lake to whiteout conditions in nevada, it is a brutal storm. across the west, some temperatures could plummet up to 40 degrees below normal. it's not just the biting record cold. around duluth, two feet of snow left drivers stranded, many shoveling around their tires just to keep moving. >> wicked action, i've never seen it like this before. >> other parts of the country are experiencing december weather of a different kind, including new york, where

temperatures could top sick degrees today, about 15 degrees higher than normal. back in california, the deep freeze is threatening its citrus crop. >> they'll go bitter on you fairly fast if they're frozen hard. >> 85% of the fruit in this multi-billion dollars industry still unplucked as workers race against time. they could lose its all in an overnight freeze. >> worse case scenario will lose about $2 billion worth of product, we'll have unemployment totals 15,000 people. >> a winter blast with far-reaching consequences. >> so a little bit of everyone feeling it across the country. let's get to some of the worst spots. still in the midwest with the snow, even though the snow has moved out, high winds blowing the snow and wind chill, that causing problems. the southern end of this now where we are seeing pitchings. we are getting reports of that freezing rain. that's why we had the problems in the midwest. heading south, this is an area of freezing rain tennessee to

north texas could get under that, especially arkansas in the middle of the heaviest stuff. this evening, some accumulations of ice could be over a half inch, bringing down free branches, power lines in addition to the skating rink that will be on the roads. this is kind of what that looks like. you can see the ripple effect of the problem. here's the area that could be under the impacts of ice. even into texas, maybe dallas, i would say definitely little rock we could be having problems tomorrow morning as we get on to the roads. there is the cold side. we were talking a little bit ago, overnight tonight into even california, temperatures remaining below freezing long enough could possibly damage some of that agriculture. there is spreading well toward the south. there is a sliver of a warm corridor. that will be going away for a

lot of places over the course of the weekend. these temperatures now are sub zero and a lot of wind chills not just today, already some 20 and third below zero, but as we get into friday and saturday morning, some of these going 30 and 40 below zero and we stick with the winds and temperatures drop. i'll have more in just a minute. >> congressional negotiators have a little over a week to strike a budget deal. house republican paul ryan and senate democrats are working on a plan. if they can get it done, it could help the government avoid a shut down for the next few years. we have more from washington. >> i'm glad to be here. >> the 29 members of congress who sit on the budget conference committee have nine more days to come up with a fiscal plan they can sell to their colleagues. december 13 is the last day both the house and senate are scheduled to be in session this year. that's d-day for the budget conference. don't expect to it accomplish major savings and reform.

>> i don't expect a grand bargain. i don't expect a medium bargain. that i expect a mini bargain. >> both sides want to avoid a looming deadline january 15, which is when a government shut down would be triggered unless congress reaches a deal. many hope to face the spending cuts known as sequestration. >> the sequester was designed to be the worst of all possible fiscal policies, so oh unacceptable that both political parties would run away from it and come to some better agreement. >> congress couldn't agree and the cuts kicked in. another round hits in january. representative jim moran blames a dysfunctional congress for the cuts, which hurt his northern virginia district. he's on the sidelines of the

budget process, which he finds a frustrating place to be. >> my expectation would be that they would wait to the very last minute, december 15 and dump a bill on us with no time to even read it, let alone deal with it constructively. >> the two most important people at the table are congressman paul ryan and democratic senator patty murray of washington state. >> we're going to find the common ground between our two budget that is we both can vote on and that's our goal. >> no steps forward would mean no relief with quester cuts and more on the way and senate republic leaders don't sound concerned. >> i think it's a bad idea to revisit a law that is actually working, and reducing spending for the government. >> not all republicans are at peace with it. congressman al rogers chairs the appropriations committee and says the current cuts and the

next round are gruesome. >> a $20 billion cut to the military, above and beyond what they've already sustained. that would be very, very significant. >> we could fix the budget situation within hours, but the leadership doesn't want that done. they don't want to make deals. >> it requires congress working together, which members say would be progress. >> secretary of state john kerry arrived in jerusalem this morning. on the table, mideast relations and the easing of sakes on iran. kerry said the bond between the u.s. and israeli is unbreakable. >> the bond between the united states and israel is

unbreakable. while occasionally we might have a difference of a tactical measure, we do not have a difference about the fundamental strategy that we both seek with respect to the security of israel and the long term peace of that region. >> kerry will meet with the palestinian president. after stops this week in china and japan, vice president biden will meet with the south korean president and deliver a major speech about america's asia policy. biden will lay wreath at a ceremony honoring fallen u.s. troops and representative the demilitarized zone between south korea and north korea. biden wrapped up his visit to china with no solution to a squabble over air security. china is not backing down from

its claims to the zone, covering disputed islands also claimed by japan. the u.s. has flown military aircraft into the zone without notifying china. biden said both have a stake in international security. >> we're trying to build a new kind of relationship between major powers, one that's different, defined by constructive cooperation, healthy competition and a shared respect for an agreed upon new set of rules for the road and international norms. >> he said an agreement is vital. >> thrust into the global spotlight, what the u.n. is doing to address the violence in the central african republic. >> the train that crashed this week had a safety feature. why it didn't do what it was

supposed to. >> american doctors on the front line of a bird flu scare half a world away. >> taking a live look now at st. louis, where it's 29 dress and they are expecting a light snow today. power of the people until we restore

>> pope francis said dealing

with sex abuse is invitessal for the church's credibility. good morning, welcome back. just ahead, the crisis in the central african republic has been flying under the radar. the u.n. is looking to stabilize the nation. first, let's look at what temperatures we'll see across the nation today. nicole. >> we'll start out where it's tang russ. wind chills of places 20 below zero, far go, bismarck, it only takes moments to get frostbite and hypothermia. this is dangerous weather. the cold air has spread south wards. we had the one cliff of warm air. the rest of the country has felt the cold impact. behind the teens and even that negative into northern plains as

we get into friday. just a couple of warm spots, the rest of it really quite brutal. >> there are reports of heavy gunfire across the central african capital. violence erupted near the presidential palace in the capitol city. there has been growing instability since rebels ousted the president in march, the latest in a series of coups since the country gained independence. we report on the latest violence from the capital city. >> we've heard sustained gunfire and mortar rounds pretty close where we are in this hotel right now. the city is deserted, people staying inside their homes, it's probably the worst fighting since rebels came into the capitol taking control of the country in march of this year.

we understand this is from the french military that the people behind this attack, known as antibalica started off as a protection source. we don't know whether they have actually grown in size, whether they do have a lot of heavy weaponry at the moment. the african forces which are here and present have been deployed to different parts of the city. there are only a few hundred forces mainly to protect the french citizens. this all comes as we're waiting for a u.n. secure council to vote in a second resolution to send in not only more french troops, but also african forces. at the moment, there are practically no one here to protect civilians. >> reporting from the central african republic capital.

the salica is the name of the former rebel group, in power since march of this year, they are from chat and sued dan. the group is responsible for many killings since last year. the newer group is increasingly involved in acts of violence against the region's muslim community. then will are the international peacekeepers, including troops from chad, the congo and other neighboring regions. there are also french troops, about 600 of them in the region right now. we are joined now from the united nations. what is the focus of the security council meeting today? >> they'll vote on a new resolution on the central african republic. this is a draw that will go

before them in 1:40. they've about that criticized for inaction over the last year. there is some criticism of this draft. in many ways, it's a compromise draft. the security council in a wider sense would like an african solution to an african problem. that's why they're going to authorized 3,500 african troops to go to the central african republic. they're going to authorize the security council. the france is allowed to oh spend up to 1,000 troops by the end of the year. i think it's worth bearing in mind that the u.n. secretary general came up with a series of options. one of his options was for a full body's adjustment force. the blue helmets of the u.n. peace keeping mission to take over. it's worth comparing that option to what's being offered. bang key moon said if he had to

do the job, he would need 6,000 peacekeepers in what he called a less per missive atmosphere, 9,000. compared the 9,000 the u.n. would needle to the ones that are going to get authorized in over an hour's time. >> it's questionable whether half measures will work in a situation like this. meanwhile, the french foreign minister said the central african republic is on the verge of genocide. >> they have to do something, but the question mask is whether what they're doing is enough to solve the problem, and certainly some human rights groups would like to see a fuel u.n. force there. some diplomats will say we need to have the africans there now to prepare for a u.n. force, because putting all those u.n. troops on the ground in c.a.r. takes time. it takes time to deploy such a large force. >> we'll continue to follow it

here. thank you. >> here is what is making news in the financial markets this morning. an encouraging sign for jobs. employers announced fewer layoffs last month. job cuts are down more than 2% for the year so far. the retail sector is seeing the most job losses. the labor department will release data on new unemployment claims. last week saw a big decline. just minutes from now, the government will issue an update of the third quarter gross domestic product. economists expect it to be revised up. wall street may be ready to get back in a buying mood. stock futures turned positive this hour, do you futures up nine points. the dow jones industrial average starts the day at 15,889.

the nasdaq still managing to stay above the key level. markets in asia fell across the board. >> college students are getting deeper in dead. the new study found the average owed in students loan is up 10% from 2011. the researchers say seven out of 10 college seen years graduate with some student loan debt. >> from the cook line to the picket line. why fast food workers nationwide are going on strike today. we'll talk to a labor expert about what they want and the likelihood that they'll get it. find out why the murder of a top hezbollah leader in lebanon could have a serious ripple effect. mexican authorities discover a stolen truck filled with radioactive materials.

why they think someone may have been exposed. want to see whats going to happen. >> get your damn education. >> talk to al jazeera. only on al jazeera america. >> oh my! (vo) al jazeera america we understand that every news story begins and ends with people. >> the efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. (vo) we pursue that story beyond the headline, past the spokesperson, to the streets. >> thousands of riot police deployed across the capitol. (vo) we put all of our global resources behind every story. >> it is a scene of utter devastation. (vo) and follow it no matter where it leads, all the way to you. al jazeera america. take a new look at news.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. thousands of fast food workers scheduled to start shifts this morning will be picketing instead. strikes are planned today at fast food shops in about 100 cities, the demand higher pay. 70% of fast food workers are over the age of 20 and more than a third are raising children on minimum wage. we have the story of a mother of three in washington state raising her family on $9.31 an

hour. >> it's 2:00 and her five hour shift at k.f.c. is over. she's off to pick up her youngest son from day care before heading home. with no time to take off her uniform, she heads to the cusp to make a snack and help her two older children with homework. >> they look to me. they don't have no one else to look to. >> for the last five years, the 35-year-old single mother of three has been making $9.31 an hour, just under $17,000 a year. >> i'm the definition of the working poor, as they say. >> her job helps, but doesn't cover the cost supporting a family of four. at 35 hours a week, she's barely able to cover the costs of living expenses. >> i receive food stamp benefits. i receive subs died day care, subsidized housing and my son is on w.i.c.

>> maya's main concern is providing stability for her children. >> i'm just focusing on taking care of them, making them happy, and make sure they get the education so that they don't have to work a fast food restaurant at $9.31. >> she is grateful for the job she has. >> i've been working nights and weekends, because christmas time is coming up. >> one day she plans to return to college and change careers. she says a bump in pay would help make that happen. aljazeera, washington. >> the movement began at a single mcdonald's location in new york city. joining us to discuss is mr. dine in washington, d.c. even if the workers don't end up

getting $15 an hour, doubling their salaries, would you expect to get something out of a raise? >> i think that $15 an hour is not reasonable or feasible to happen. it's reasonable as a wage, but not likely to happen. they're really trying to start a public discussion, raise political awareness of the fact that in a $200 billion industry there are folks working full time in poverty. >> part that have discussion is how much wage increase is up a $15 an hour would affect prices like ham burgers and chicken nuggets with experts saying a 10% to 15% increase. what's your opinion on that? >> it clearly would increase somewhat the cost of the food they serve. i don't think it would be as

much as some people say, according to what you justify said, but at the same time, companies do better when there's a stable workforce, a more qualified workforce, a happier workforce, a more productive workforce. yeah, in one sense, if you do a static analysis, it increases prices. over time, i think the companies themselves would benefit. that's one of the things i think is incumbent upon the unions doing this. they need to raise the issue of fairness to the public. they also need to show that this wouldn't really hurt the companies. in fact, it's in the company's best interest. finally, they need to show it's in the public's interest, because right now, more than half of these fast food workers are on public assistance, even though they're working full time, causing taxpayers $7 billion a year. they need to show all those facets. >> what about the argument that this movement in some ways may

hurt the workers' cause especially if it leads to restaurants laying off workerrors replace i can them with automated machines? >> if they are asking for $100,000 a year, maybe. i don't think getting a few dollars an hour morgan in a highly profittal sect tore of the economy is going to lead to restaurants closing. how you do the other victory's we've seen race the minimum wage for workers oh $15 no how is that fueling the calls for fast food workers to get paid more? >> it's all part of the mix. there's talk about living wages, minimum wages, sometimes they pass, sometimes they fail.

i don't think that's really the solution for one jurisdiction to raise minimum wage and a nearby district doesn't. it could lead to the issues you said, companies are better off a mile away. maybe move their operation to the lower paying place. they're all trying to race the issue of the fact that in this very withouty country, we have working people that can't afford to buy the products they're making. that doesn't seem reasonable. >> thanks for joining us this morning. >> a pleasure to be with you. >> the statistics about america's income gap are telling. from 2009 to 2012, the average income of the top 1% increased 31%. in the same period, income for the rest of the nation's workers rose by one half of 1%. >> in detroit, the search is on for assets.

some creditors say its world class art should be sold so they can be paid. some warn the pieces by world renowned artists may not be enough. >> the creditors must be disappointed to find that the value's assets are as low as they are. i think there were hopes that the figure would be much higher. >> detroit has about 3,000 pieces of art. so far, they are estimated at 450 to $870 million, but detroit's debt is $18 billion. >> pensions of city workers could be slashed to pay detroit's debts and chicago is facing a similar crisis. the city is saddled with a $9 billion pension plan. under state law, the city must boost its contribution in 2015 by $590 million, increasing the money for future and current retirees to nearly $1.5 billion.

in an email wednesday, mayor rahm emanuel said relief needs to come soon. >> a series of attacks in yemen left many dead. the defense ministry was targeted. a suicide car bomber rammed the gate on one side of the building while gunman on foot opened fire on the other side. the explosion damaged a hospital in the complex. there's been no claim of responsibility. yemen is home to one of al-qaeda's most active branches. the country under an interim government since the ouster of the president two years ago. >> the killing of a senior hezbollah commander is a latest in the series of attacks. hezbollah blames israel for the assassination, israel denies. we have more on the leader and what his death means to the region. >> in the driving rain, hezbollah prepared to put to

rest one of its most senior military commanders. a funeral in the city where he grew up. in life, little was known publicly about him. in death, some background's emerging. he had been a key figure in operations against israel. his place dates back to the 1980's. he's thought to have played a big part in the 2006 war against israel. one of his sons was a fighter who died in an air strike. >> his fate was to die from gunshots outside one of his homes. this one in south beirut. hezbollah blamed israeli. israeli denied involvement, saying as always such accusations were a reflection from hezbollah.

whether this is part of an escalating campaign for hezbollah for its involvement in the war of syria. >> there was a twitter claim after the bombing outside the iranian embassy from a known al-qaeda linked group. it's thought there could be more targeting of hezbollah here in lebanon. >> the tough question, is it going to stop here or this is the beginning of a major assassination against the leadership or the military wing of hezbollah. that's probably the hardest question, and how hezbollah will prevent that from happening. >> lebanon's insecurity can only increase in the aftermath of this killing. hezbollah has threatened a response. andrew simmons, aljazeera, beirut. >> this assassination raises a

lot of questions in the troubled region that has been plagued with sectarian war. other groups are seizing it is opportunity to further destabilize the middle east. joining us now is former assistant secretary of state. good morning to you. there seems no doubt that the sectarian violence in syria has spilled over to lebanon because hezbollah is supporting the bashar al assad regime. could we see another civil war in lebanon. >> we certainly could. the recent outbreak of violence, assassination attempts against hezbollah. beirut is in the middle of a very tough area with a number of mixed areas between the different sects, and as you said earlier, we're starting to see not only the spillover from

syria, but this greater gain, this larger game of the persian-arab conflict in the region. >> not only lebanon, but sectarian violence seeming to be on the upswing in iraq and it appears yemen, as well. >> sure, absolutely. this is all part of this greater gain, where persian iran, the revolutionary iran is trying to assert over the region. the june knee led arab countries, saudi arabia and u.a. are fighting back. they're doing it through proxies, such as hezbollah. in the occasion of the persians, the eye raines and sunni extremists as we're seeing in syria and lebanon supported by countries such as sawed eight i

can't. they're having this fight, a proxy fight in sir you are i can't, lebanon and parts of iraq. >> you bring up iran, sir. some foreign policy analysts make the case that because of iran's importance in this proxy conflict as you describe it, the u.s. should perhaps further in gauge iran as an ally in that region. >> one argument says that's exactly right, we ought to have the united states and the global super powers attempt to mad rate the actions of iran. the other side of the argument says iran since 1979, sings the iranian revolution is a revolutionary government has not deterred and will continue to export violence and terrorism in the only in the region, but in places such as south america, as well. one can only hope the united states can moderate their behavior, but that's going to

take an act of diplomacy that i think so far has eluded this government. >> al-qaeda appears to be fighting more battleground in the middle east and a food hold, it seems again, even though the obama administration had talked about how much al-qaeda had been dismantled since the death of bin lad en, do americans need to worry now that al-qaeda does seem to be gaining ground in the middle east? >> i think the americans ought to be very concerned about the increasing capability. while the u.s. government has started to parse their words, saying we only met core al-qaeda in pakistan and afghanistan, the fact is that the franchisees, the smaller groups of al-qaeda represent a clear and present danger not only to the countries and governments in the middle east but also that of the united states. >> general, thank you.

>> commuter trains will roll again today on a normal schedule past the reopened stop in the bronx, the scene of sunday's fatal derailment in new york city. the train to derailed featured a system that can warn the engineer of a potential accident and apply the brakes, but the system was not in the front cab where william rockefeller was at the controls. it was installed in the locomotive, which was pushing the train from the back. >> highly radioactive waste has been discovered from a stolen van in mexico. the gunman who took the truck probably made a fatal mistake. the truck was found in a remote area, taking cobalt 60 used in cancer treatments to a waste site. the radioactive container was opened. anyone exposed to it could be in grave danger of dying within days.

>> ross shimabuku is here with sports. >> right now, we're playing the waiting game, but it is judgment day for james winston. the florida state quarterback, the lead ircandidate for the heisman trophy will find out today if he is to be charged with sexual assault. the decision to charge or not charge him for sexual assault, which occurred last determine will be made today at 2:00 p.m. eastern time. he was just named the player of the year yesterday and his teal will be playing in the championship game saturday. the deadline for voting for the heisman is due on monday. today's decision will answer a lot of questions moving forward. in the meantime, winston continues to get the support from his teammates. >> i'm used to it happening with, it's a main thing to myself. the team, these guys around me, i always stress it with, you all probably think oh, he's just saying this, when you got good guys around you, good people

around you, it's easy. you can be yourself. you don't have to worry about somebody, he lame or he talk too much. you can by yourself, because you got the same goal. when you got the same goal as a seem, that's how you be successful. >> north carolina is a dr. jekyll mr. hyde team. they've lost to belmont and u.a.b. last night, north carolina would man up against north michigan state. the tar heels jumped out to a 14 point lead. the spartans would rally back. adrien payne feeling it from three-point land. he chipped in with 16 points as michigan state would tie things up at 30 the two. in the second half, the tar heels take control. north carolina up by a six pack. the number one team in the country, 79-65.

in the nba, the best team in the western conference, the portland trailblazers. kevin durant and the thunder riding an eight game win streak. they dominated down low. aldridge double dipping grabbed 13 rebounds, drains the money shot, and how about those portland trail bladers going on to oh win 111-104. >> the san antonio spurs and timberwolves were supposed to play south of the border, but 45 minutes before tip off, everybody was told to get out of the believe. a generator caused smoke. the game was postponed to the a

later date. the fans were disappointed. last night would have been the first nba regular season contest in mexico city since 1997 when the rockets and mavericks hooped it up. fans very disappointed, but they say they'll get their money back refunded. >> why a serious strain of the bird flu in asia has caught the attention of doctors in the u.s. >> we've seen bitter cold and heavy areas of snow, but now this storm system could be turning into an ice storm. i'll have your details.

>> and now a techknow minute...ñ

>> looking a the a live picture of the shoreline in germany, where a major storm is moving in, already causing flooding there. welcome back to aljazeera america. health officials are dealing with a bird flu crisis. let's get a look at where the snow and rain may fall across the country. >> it's the same system we've had.

parts of texas, north texas in the 30's. where the warm air is in the 70's. when you get that trapped above cold and moisture coming down, that can lend to ice conditions. that's what we're starting to see, that trapped warm layer and then the moisture falling book into the cold hour, freezing rain developing back into no mexico, hitting the ground. we'll look especially this evening overnight and into tomorrow anywhere from tennessee back into north texas and new mexico could be seeing that ice. tomorrow morning could be treacherous and power outages as this weighs down the branches and power lines. >> dementia cases worldwide could triple by 2050 according to new estimates. an increase is projected from 44 million to 135 million over that time span. alzheimer's is the most common

form of dementia. there are few effective treatments and no cure. leaders from the world's biggest economies will meet for a special summit on dementia. >> a public health warning in hong kong is now at the serious stage. scientists are trying to find a vaccine for the virus. one solution might be found in nashville. >> china is on high alert. the world health organization says that since man of this year with, there have been a total of 45 deaths from a new strain of bird influenza called h7 and nine. >> close contact with births occasionally results in the in glove instance going from a bird to a person. when that individual is infected, the infection is usually very, very serious. >> hong kong has shut down its live poultry markets and

suspended imports of chickens from mainland china. there are fears that the virus could mutate in poultry with the potential for a pandemic. >> they're taking this very, very seriously. one reason they're doing it is this strain of influenza in birds often does not make the births sick, so you captain follow the sick birds. >> here on the campus of vanderbilt university within the front lines of vaccine research for the strawn in china funded by the national institute of health are a team of a dozen doctors and scientists working to find a vaccine to treat people. >> dr. catherine edwards joins that search. >> the chinese were very good about sharing the virus with the

w.h.o. and with the c.d.c. so that we could begin to grow the virus. >> in the test trials, they infected 200 people with varied levels of the h.7 and nine strain. that led to a development of a successful vaccine. researchers know that while china is more than 8,000 miles away, a global flu pandemic could be on their doorstep at any time. >> it used to be maybe that if something happened in china, we couldn't see it or see it for a long time, but basically, any of these pandemics are a plane ride away. >> there should be absolutely no fear and what americans should know is that the public health infrastructure that we have in the united states is alert to this, we're all tuned in, we're on top of this and watching it very, very carefully. >> as test trials continue, researchers will be ready to share and release the vaccine should the h.7 and nine influenza begin to spread.

>> the latest bird flu patient in hong kong is a 36-year-old woman who fell ill after contacting poultry during a trip to china. more than 2 million stolen passports for popular websites like facebook, twitter, google and yahoo are now public. trust waves spider labs discovered a server that was mining log in's from in if he canned computers. facebook, twitter and linked in are resetting the pass words for anyone affected. the most common password was the simple 123456. that's going to do it to this hour of aljazeera america. thanks for watching.

consider this: the news of the day plus so much more. >> we begin with the government shutdown. >> answers to the questions no one else will ask. >> it seems like they can't agree to anything in washington no matter what. >> antonio mora, award winning and hard hitting. >> we've heard you talk about the history of suicide in your family. >> there's no status quo, just the bottom line. >> but, what about buying shares in a professional athlete?